1 2 apparent to me that not only did I gain immediacy and inten- sity with color, but I also could use it to change the physical, three-dimensional traits of fiber itself . I could make each string thicker, I could make clumps of fibers or threads with extreme variability in both color and weight. Applying color with paint gave me additional freedom with the final surfaces of my work. I could correct, change at any stage, recompose with freedom; pieces were no longer restricted by the textile procedures and ideas were enriched by the simultaneity of dif- ferent processes. Paint also permitted a richer sense of layering, letting gold, color or texture shine through in a manner I could not obtain with color-dyed fibers. For me, the physcial traits of color are not its only appeal . Color is a language common to all cultures. I prefer colors used in ancient arts and crafts that rely on alchemical or transformative processes. I insist on using reds-used on primitive ceramics, bodies and as underpainting in colonial gold. I insist on earth colors, on the blues and greens of land- scape. Color helps me distance myself from the surface to add different meanings to the tapestry. In the group of Ceremonial Cloths , I wanted color to be a sharp, endless line in three-dimensional space . To do this, I loaded each cotton fiber with coats of gesso and paint. The woven layers of all these lines create a dense, penetrable, volume of color built on a simple textile construction. These are ceremonial garments for one to become intensely aware of color. Forests and Moons have a similar intention with an added touch of geometric figures on clean fields of color . The Umbras are rigid and immobile structures. However, as their title indicates, these pieces create vibrant, visually fluid surfaces through the use of silver and gold-leaf that shade or reflect light. This reflective trait, added to the special way in which the woven strands bend, determines almost mathemati- 24. Moon ii, 1993. 25. Moon ii, 1993; detail. 26. Umbra 25, 2001. 27. Umbra 30, 2003.